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R D I PEOPLE

Even from the shore you can hear her

delighted shouts, carried by the wind

over the rippled surface of Westbere

Lake, near Canterbury. A puff of windfills the 16-footWayfarers mainsail and

the boat surges forward. Hilary Lister, a

wheelchair-bound quadriplegic who can

move only her head, is thrilled to feel

the boat pitch and roll beneath her. The

Wayfarer catches another gust of wind

IN THE FACE OF A BRUTAL

ILLNESS, HILARY LISTER SET

HER HEART ON ONE DARINGACT OF INDEPENDENCE

B Y R O B E R T K I E N E R

NotWithoutAFight

PHOTOGRAPHED BY BARRY MARSDEN 63

LIVING LIFE

TO THE FULLHilary with husband

Clifford near their

home in Kent

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Wallace & Gromit with Clifford the

other day, she says. The ticket guy

said: Does it want to sit at the front?

She adds: Im often referred to as it.When I see people staring at me I try

to smile at them and they smile back;

this breaks down that wall. It makes

them see you as a person.

Hilary Lister knows that she has

limited time left; the disease that has

paralysed her is affecting her breathing

now and will likely take her life one

day soon. But she is not afraid. I hada near-death experience once and it

left me feeling as if a part of me was

missing. I know that I will be whole

again once I am reunited with that bit.

The only way that will happen is when

I die. So I have no fear. And it will be

the end of my pain.

Recently the wheel of Hilarys life

turned full circle when she began tak-ing disabled kids out on Westbere Lake.

One was an autistic boy. The next day

his grandmother called me and said

the night after our sail he had looked

his mother straight in the eyes and

given her a huge cuddle and a kiss. She

had waited six years, his entire life, for

him to do that.

Hilary pauses, then adds: It was hisway of saying, Im flying.

Hilary Lister now plans to sail

solo around the British Isles.

See www.hilarylister.co.uk.

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G E T T I N G T O K N O W O N E

As the Queen celebrates her eightieth birthday, here

are the facts about her lifereported in the press

over the yearsthat might not quite make it on to

one of those glitzy tribute programmes.

She was an obsessively tidy child whowould get back out of bed if she had

forgotten to cover her used underwear with

a silk scarf. During one French lesson, however,

she tipped a bottle of ink over her own head.

As a teenager, she did her Christmas shopping in Woolworths.

Prince Philip once threatened to throw her out of his MG when shecomplained about his driving.

Her hobbies include jigsaws and watching television. Seventiesdetective seriesKojak was a particular favourite.

She hates teabags and gardening. Not afraid to meet her lowliest subjects, she personally removes thefleas from her dogs.

Once, while looking for duck eggs, she fell into the BuckinghamPalace lake.

When she is very angry, she drums her fingers.